Related Articles

Although there’s a plethora of caves in New England, Pennsylvania and New York, it’s more challenging to find caves open to the public in New Jersey. Descend below the earth’s surface to encounter colorful minerals, urban legends and wild underground terrain in some of the best caverns, caves and other underground attractions in the state open to the public.

Get a Lode of Underground Minerals

Whet your appetite for New Jersey’s underground at the Sterling Hill Mining Museum in Ogdensburg. Although not a natural cavern, the museum’s Underground Mine Tour is one of the best ways to familiarize yourself with the hundreds of minerals that lie under the earth’s surface in the state. See various ores illuminated under ultraviolet light in the Rainbow Tunnel and check out specimens of each ore close-up in the museum. The lighted and paved paths through the portions of mine open to the public are all wheelchair accessible, enabling those of all abilities to experience the Garden State’s underground terrain.

Get Lost in Lore at the Fairy Hole

Place names like Ghost Lake, Haunted Hollow and the Fairy Hole set the stage for adventure at Jenny Jump State Park. The park’s campground is the perfect place to tell ghost stories by day and explore legends by day. The park’s largest cave – the Fairy Hole – is said to be the place to hear disembodied whispers of Lenape American Indians who once used the cave as a sacred site. Follow the Mountain Lake Trail to the Ghost Lake Trail from the campground to reach the cave in less than 2 miles. Fairy Hole isn’t the only cave in the park. Fairly Low Cave 100 yards northeast of the Fairy Hole reaches back 160 feet with a ceiling just 3 to 4 feet high. Keep in mind that bears frequent the park and use less-frequented caves for dens.

How to Visit Limited-Access Caves

Some of New Jersey’s caverns now offer limited access to the public with restricted access via locked gates. Crooked Swamp Cave is the longest in the state. A trapped spelunker in 1982 is why the site is now locked with a security gate. Contact the New Jersey Cave Conservancy to arrange for an underground tour that follows exacting safety standards. The narrow cave twists through limestone bedrock in Crooked Swamp at the headwaters of the Paulinskill River. Many springs in the area dissolved the bedrock, forming the cave. The underground isn’t the only marvel to see on the trip. Natural sights above the surface include a blue heron rookery and the habitat of threatened long-tail salamanders and endangered bog turtles.

Leigh Cavern near the south dam of Round Valley Reservoir is a second site to visit with the Conservancy or another area grotto. Although it’s the largest known cavern in the state, it’s home to only about 800 feet of mapped area. The cavern’s cemented entrance has a narrow, locked door and a small pipe to shimmy through. Tight, muddy passages flanked with treacherous pits lead to the cavern.